Coming into the deciding match, the series was locked at 1-1.

A scintillating series will come to an end in Durban when South Africa and New Zealand clash in the third and final One-Day worldwide on Wednesday (August 26) – a virtual final after South Africa won the first ODI at Centurion and New Zealand levelled the series in Potchefstroom.

Acknowledging the closely-fought contests the two teams have taken part in, Milne added that beating South Africa in their backyard will be a good achievement.

With NZ Cricket confirming allrounder Jimmy Neesham’s tour is over due to recurring back soreness – a worry for the gifted allrounder after a long period out with a stress fracture – an unchanged Black Caps 11 appears logical after their efforts on the high veldt. New Zealand have seen Tom Latham and George Worker come good but may be concerned about whether Colin Munro has a long-term future.

In the spotlight: Rilee Rossouw has looked the most in-form batsman among his team-mates, although he does not have the numbers to show for it, and could use a big score to cement his position in the team in the near future.

However, there are worrying signs for South Africa as their key batsmen – AB de Villiers and David Miller – in absence of Faf du Plessis have not been able to turn up their game against the Black Caps. A reminder of what he has to offer would be timely. A feature of New Zealand’s victory was its bowling. Ronchi has done a fairly decent job behind the stumps and he will be keen to get amongst the runs.

New Zealand, on the other hand, will want its opener Martin Guptill, who scored an unbeaten century in the second ODI, to continue his excellent form with the bat in the Durban match. A trio of tweaks to their starting XI saw New Zealand win the second game and they may be tempted to keep their victorious team but conditions could dictate otherwise.

Spinner Aaron Phangiso makes way for seamer Kagiso Rabada, while Kyle Abbott comes in for Vernon Philander who was struggling with a viral infection.